The Pasteur Institute of Iran (PII) is a medical research center located in Tehran. It is one of the oldest and most prominent research and public health centers in Iran and West Asia. The institute was established in 1920 through an agreement between the Institut Pasteur in Paris and the Iranian government. For more than a century, the Pasteur Institute of Iran has made great strides in preventing and controlling infectious diseases, gaining significant credibility and reputation both nationally and internationally.
With a total staff of more than 1,300 and five branches across the country, the institute is a leading facility in the development and manufacturing of vaccines, biopharmaceuticals, and diagnostic kits in Iran. It also functions as a major medical research hub while providing specialized health services through diagnostic laboratory services and National Reference Laboratories to control infectious diseases in Iran and neighboring countries. Moreover, the PII offers a diverse range of Ph.D. programs and educational initiatives covering medical and pharmaceutical biotechnology, microbiology, and systems biology.
Over the past century, the PII has built an essential foundation for the development of an investigative, laboratory-based biomedical culture in Iran, and its influence and contributions have spread far beyond the boundaries of its original mandate.